Micaela Burrow on June 14, 2023
A Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) committee at Laughlin Air Force Base, a major pilot training site, plans to stage a Pride parade, a spokesperson for the installation confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday.
The spokesperson would not confirm the timing or route of the parade, saying that a team of volunteers under Laughlin’s DEI Committee was still awaiting final approval for the planned event highlighting LGBT+ members during Pride month. However, photos of a digital flyer advertising the event, which were shared on social media several days ago, indicated it could take place on June 30 at 2:00 p.m. and follow a route leading it through base housing.
“A team of volunteers, under Laughlin’s Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Committee, are planning the Pride Parade for Laughlin Airmen, however, approval for the parade is in coordination and there is no confirmed time, date, or route,” Tech. Sgt. Dustin Mullin, a spokesperson for the base, told the DCNF.
Laughlin has five neighborhoods with a total of 450 single family homes for military and civilian families who work on the base, according to the website of the federal contractor that developed the housing. The base also houses a barracks for single, unaccompanied airmen with less than three years of service, according to My Base Guide.
The proposed route passes through Bowling St., Patterson St., Seventh St., Vandenberg Dr. and Cannon Dr., according to the photo of the promotional poster shared online. If approved, it would guide parade participants past at least two playgrounds designated for “Laughlin Family Housing,” a review of the base layout on Google Maps shows.
Pride parades often feature participants dressed in sexually explicit clothing or performing suggestive acts. It is unclear whether the Air Force volunteer team setting up the parade at Laughlin would sanction such behavior.
States have taken action to prevent children from being exposed to drag shows and events considered sexually explicit and unsuitable for minors, although increasingly Pride events, complete with explicit materials, are promoted for children, often outside of parents’ control.
The spokesperson said no guidance has been issued to parade participants, nor families notified, citing the fact that installation authorities have not yet issued final approval.
“Neither the event or route have been approved,” Mullin told the DCNF. “Approval for the parade is in coordination.”
Laughlin Air Force Base houses the 47th Flying Training Wing, which is responsible for training new pilots, and welcomes approximately fifteen classes of 2-25 pilot trainees each year according to graduation announcements available on the website.
The 47th Wing, also known as Team XL, participated in a Pride Month color run earlier in June “to show our unwavering support to all LGBT+ Airmen,” according to a post on the installation’s Facebook page. The base has celebrated Pride in previous years with activities such as open panels and media spotlights, according to photos and videos available on DVIDS.
“Our culture of inclusivity and diversity is what makes us the greatest Air Force in the world,” the team wrote.
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